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The End Smell (Perfume Thoughts: Eleventh Hour, Byredo)

Seconds after spritzing Byredo’s ‘Eleventh Hour’ and I am already impressed – what is this note, I asked. It’s dark, and dank and peppery, and this morning it was nice and cold, and this just fits perfectly as I wake up and it is still kind of dark outside. Turns out the note is called Ban Timmur, and it is a Nepalese plant related to Szechuan pepper. It has a moody kind of spice, and I am addicted to it. And then some cloves come in, and in its heart a fig – the juicy kind, not the just-off-stem that is in Philosykos. But there’s also a creaminess to this, and I get some cashmere kinds of woods that feel like the scent is enveloping you and keeping you warm. I imagine in my mind a burnt orange hue, and this makes the perfume just perfect for the late fall.

Eleventh Hour is inspired by the end of the world. Well, if this is what the end smells like, then I gather it will not be as dreaded. I know that L’Artisan had a similarly themed one in 1999, but their interpretation was more altar-incense themed, asking you to pray. Byredo’s point of view at the end feels more settled-in. Byredo’s recent releases have been nice, but this one has excited me just a little more.